Posts in category Bikepacking

Day 9 Monday
Detlev, Patrick and myself had finished within an hour of each other the previous evening and all camped within a couple of kilometres of each other. My alarm went off at 4am and it was show time. I knew I probably had a two hour head start on Patrick, and if I was lucky an hour or more on Detlev. There was a supermarket in town [...]

Day 7 Saturday
I felt fresh despite the 4am start, I was eager to closed the 25km between Patrick O and myself and hopefully leave Peter F behind while he slept. If they stuck to their usual routine I guessed I had a little over 2 hours to do my damage. The cold morning air and bitter head wind drained my energy quickly, not to mention the cr [...]

Day 6 Friday
The cool morning air felt refreshing as I left the stuffy hotel, sleeping indoors after a few days wild camping always feels a little claustrophobic. But the nice bed, shower and access to electric had done my moral wonders and my clothes were smelling fresh again. Sadly breakfast didn’t start until 7am, which seemed like [...]

Day 4 Wednesday.
I’d had the perfect sleep until my alarm sounded at 0430, 5am and 0530, eventually I dragged myself out of bed and was on the road at 6am. Arriving in town at 7am just as the supermarket and bakery were opening. Just before town I’d found Morgan packing up his gear. “where the fuck did you come from?” [...]

Day 2 Monday.
My alarm sounded at 0530 after a reasonable six hours sleep, I assumed that nobody had passed me in the night or I’d slept through the sound of tires grinding through the gravel only 10m from my tent. 15 minutes later I was on the move again. I’m not a breakfast person so a hand full of nuts while packing up is usua [...]

With 60+ riders on narrow cycle paths and promised single track the neutralized start of the first kilometers was a good idea. As predicted the riders spread out nicely over the first hour. I started almost last and slowly made my way forward to be ahead of the riders with bulky gear before any single track and bike carrying started.
BTG Pt1 [...]

The pre race BBQ and briefing was a low key affair at a swimming pool just outside Basel. Riders dribbled in from around Europe and further afield. Trackers and race numbers were handed out and there was a short and simple briefing by Achim, he didn’t seem too comfortable talking to a crowd, but that is logical as the BTG has gone in 3 [...]

The Race Across South Africa takes place in June/July each year. It is a 2300 km ( with a total cumulative ascent is over 37000 metres), non-stop, self-navigated mountain bike race starting in Pietermaritzburg KwaZulu-Natal and ending in Wellington near Cape Town. Riders are allowed a maximum of 26 days to complete the ride.
Blistered sore f [...]

(Pt.1 of the story can be found >>here<<)
I’d heard hikers arrive late in the night so thought I’d make their day by leaving my spare 4 eggs and extra coffee just outside their tent. I know how much it can suck to wake up hungry and still need to find an open shop, even more so when hiking than cycling.
My half day res [...]

Inspired by the write up on Bikepacking.com I’d considered having a crack at the GR5 (hiking route) for a while. The last line of the blog “Continue on the GR5 in either direction to lengthen the adventure” intrigued me. When my current contract abruptly ended and knowing I’d be starting a new permanent job less than 2 [...]

Advertised as a challenging 3 day ride (+/- 240km/ 5000m climbing). I’ve been eager to try The Capital trail route since hearing about it. By starting in Berwick upon Tweed I was also able to add a couple of days and included an option to do the “Peebles loop” if I had time left over. By combining my traveling days straight [...]

What should of been a slick early morning get away from the closed hotel I’d been allowed to sleep in was delaying by half an hour stumbling around in the semi dark fixing a puncture (no comments about tubeless please Mr Rissik). With a quick stop at the fuel station for a sugar and artificial flavour breakfast I quickly got moving to g [...]